NBA commissioner David Stern, in his first public comments on the sale and relocation to Seattle of the Sacramento Kings, said that "no purchase or sale agreement" has been submitted to the league, the Seattle Times reported.

Otherwise, according to the report, Stern shed little light on the situation while answering questions on a variety of topics during a news conference Thursday in London, where the New York Knicks played the Detroit Pistons.

Stern confirmed that Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson will be given a chance this spring to address the NBA Board of Governors or the league’s Relocation Committee to state his city's case. Stern added that that's a courtesy given cities that have been supportive of teams and that "Sacramento has been particularly supportive."

Meantime, ABC News10 in Sacramento cited unidentified sources trying to keep the Kings in California as saying that a local ownership group “is forming faster and better than expected.”

The source, according to the TV station, said that the group “could be announced as early as next week.”

According to Johnson, “big names with deep pockets are being added to the equation.”

“There’s not one or two, there’s multiple people that are interested,” the former NBA All-Star told ABC News10. “Once it leaked and once it became public that there was a potential deal in Seattle, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing. These are people that have significant dollars and these are people that want in at different levels.”

Asked Thursday specifically about the city of Seattle's involvement, Stern said, "We are more or less in a series of communications, but right now we don't know anything in terms of actionable plans."

Stern’s comments are the first from the NBA since reports last week that the Maloof family, which owns the Kings, was negotiating with a Seattle-focused group led by hedge fund manager Chris Hansen and Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer.

Several reports last week characterized the sale, for $525 million, as either done or nearing completion.